Are you drawn into horror by small, vindictive monsters? Did the movie Leprechaun (1993) make you avoid eye contact with the Lucky Charms cereal boxes at the grocery store? Or were you not so easily cowed by the green tights and large belt buckles? It’s normal for urban legends and folklore to challenge people to suspend their disbelief in the supernatural. Still, mixed with the modern horror genre, the introduction of a force strong enough to warp the rules of reality becomes a little less inviting. Something about a creative menace with a sense of playfulness is spine-chilling to read about.
In the spirit of the taunting fairies in Irish folklore, we want to focus on novels with evil incarnations that are cunning, sadistic, and masterfully sinister. Listed in no particular order, here are four horror novels with antagonists that will make you think, “Wow, lucky for me, I’m not the main character who has to deal with that.
1. The Creeper by A.M. Shine
Trigger Warning: Please read the TWs/CWs prior to purchasing.
The strange locals of this isolated town all say the same thing: Three times you see him. Each night he comes closer…
First on the list is the notably gothic folktale horror, The Creeper by A.M. Shine. The Irish author’s acclaim comes from his notably Lovecraftian style and slow-burn pace. Two researchers, Ben and Chloe, are tasked with exploring an urban legend that festers within a highly secretive, remote village in the woods. From here, they must figure out what this being known as The Creeper truly is; is it collective hysteria? Or is this a physical entity much more malevolent in its craft? Filled with eerie tension, gore, and shocking conclusions, this novel’s explosive findings makes for a fun and disturbing venture into the unknown.
2. Monsters We Have Made by Lindsay Starck
Trigger Warning: The brief mention of a true crime case in this article may be triggering to some readers.
“For a parent, there is no greater fear than something happening to your child. In Monsters We Have Made, Lindsay Starck jams a knife right into this nerve.” — Benjamin Percy, author of The Ninth Metal
With nods to the Slender Man craze of the 2010’s and the violent crime associated with it, Monsters We Have Made by Lindsay Starck follows Sylvia Gray, the mother of a girl who — alongside her friend — stabbed their babysitter at the command of an internet monster known as the Kingman. 13 years later, Faye has gone missing, leaving her child behind, and her mother Sylvia must dive back into the lore of an internet monster phenomenon that had enamored her daughter all those years ago. Intertwining a mother’s guilt, an imaginary friend, a violent crime, and the disappearance of her daughter, Monsters We Have Made is an introspective look into a violent obsession and the staggering consequences of a modern urban legend. Readers have called it “an interesting, multilayered look at myth vs reality, truth vs lies, motherhood vs individualism, and all the levels in between.”
3. A God in the Shed by J-F. Dubeau
Trigger Warning: The mention of violence and occult activity may be triggering to some readers. Please exercise personal care when reading.
“They reminded him that people were nothing more than walking, talking bags of meat, ready to become something else’s meal.” ― J-F Dubeau, A God in the Shed
Similar to The Creeper’s atmospheric setting, I must admit that I love a small-town horror trope. Paired with the introduction of a murderous problem, an old community’s dirty laundry is brought to the surface, and characters that are unfamiliar to the town’s ancestral history are in for a horrifying discovery. In the case of A God in the Shed, it just so happens that the force that wreaks havoc upon the small town of Saint Ferdinand is shaken by the awakening of an ancestral curse in the shape of a vengeful deity. Confined to a teenage girl’s toolshed, the dark entity has an insatiable taste for vengeance, and the string of ritualistic murders following in its wake dig up a secret history that the town couldn’t quite bury. Bloody and bleak, A God in the Shed is the first of two cosmic-horror novels within this universe.
4. Seed by Ania Ahlborn
Trigger Warning: The mention of a child in peril and demonic activity may be triggering to some readers. Please exercise personal care when reading.
In the vine-twisted swamps of Louisiana, the shadows have teeth.
Last but not least, we have the dreadful Southern Gothic, Seed by Ania Ahlborn. This is Ahlborn’s first novel, and, considering her track record of leaving me distressed and invested in her other novels like Brother (still hurt by that one) and Within These Walls, I can count on her to leave me slack-jawed and thoroughly worried for the main characters. In the case of Seed, we meet the main character, Jack Winters, after he fled his rural hometown in Georgia years ago, hoping to have escaped the evil that stalked him. But he can’t quite escape his past, and when the demon makes its way back into his life and threatens his youngest daughter, Jack will need to reckon with his first attempt to escape. Brutal and unflinching, Ania Ahlborn’s debut is exciting and might leave you with a bad taste in your mouth (with love to the horror genre).
Each author finds unique ways to make urban legends through modern tales of terror. If you find yourself steered away from dark content, including graphic violence, demonic possession, stalking, murder, cult activity, or general peril, I would advise you to think twice about giving these a chance. On the other hand, if you love a disturbing web of secrets that’s drawn out by the presence of one malevolent being, these books are sure to satiate your folktale horror needs.
Need more horrifying reads to keep you looking over your shoulder? Check out some of our Horror Recs in our Bookshop here!
Looking for less folklore and more real horror? Check out this list here.
